porters grange weekly newsletter week ending 15th february 2024

Nursery

This week we have been very busy. We have enjoyed reading ‘Hooray for fish’ and talked about how we are all different but all very special. We made our own sea creatures which are fantastic. We also celebrated Valentine's Day and talked about all the people we love and care about.

REMINDERS: Have a wonderful, safe and healthy half term.

Reception

We have had an extremely busy week learning about different celebrations and festivals. This year is the Chinese ‘Year of The Dragon' and we learnt about ‘The Great Race’ which gave each year a different name. We found out why we eat pancakes on pancake day and made our own banana pancakes. We also looked at ‘Valentine's Day’ and spoke about people that we love and who are special to us.

REMINDER:Don’t forget to access Seesaw. We have uploaded the new sounds we have been learning, allowing you to support your children at home.

Year 1

This week we have discussed our new text called ‘Beegu’. She is a funny little alien and gets lost on the Earth! The children have learned to draw Beegu and labelled her using adjectives to develop descriptive writing. In maths, the children are developing their skills with numbers to 20, looking at fact families and the differences between amounts using specific language. For PSHE and R.E. the children have been learning about The Good Samaritan which has led to discussions about supporting homeless people. They have been really interested in learning about our local charity called H.A.R.P and what they do to help people.

REMINDER: Please engage with our app SeeSaw to complete home learning activities. There is a wide variety of things to do and they don’t necessarily have to be completed in order. Your child can take their pick of which activity to do! We look forward to your responses.

Also, please make a note of when your child reads at home in their reading record.

Finally, please check all of your child’s jumpers and cardigans. Some have been taken by the wrong children. If you find a jumper or cardigan that is not your child’s, return them to school as soon as possible. Thank you.

Year 2

This week we have been continuing to learn about Samuel Pepys and The Great Fire of London. We learnt about his diary and the things he did during the fire. We wrote our own questions for Samuel Pepys and some of us took the role of Samuel Pepys to answer the questions we wrote. We then used all our skills to write our own diaries. In maths we have been continuing to learn multiplication and division skills, counting in equal groups, sharing equally and counting in twos. We have also learnt about arrays. In science we learnt about humans and animals basic needs and the difference between the things we want and the things we need to survive. In history we have written Super Summary Sentences to show all our learning about The Great Fire of London.

REMINDER: Please read every night and sign reading diaries. Children need to have a PE kit in school. This should be blue shorts, a white t-shirt and plimsolls or trainers. If you have any problems providing this, please speak to your child’s teacher.

Year 3

This week in maths we have been continuing to explore measurement. We are now looking at perimeter. We will be investigating the perimeter of real life objects, then calculating the perimeter of 2D shapes. In English we are building up to create our own non-fiction reports. We have been note taking and then using these notes to create full and informative sentences.

Year 4

In maths, we have started learning about length and measurement. We have been working out the perimeter of rectangles and other shapes. In English, we have used our history knowledge to write great information texts about ancient Maya civilisation. In computing, we edited images to make our own book covers and we have been carrying out investigations in science.

REMINDER:Please carry on learning your times tables. Play TT Rockstars or try other online games, eg, Hit the Button - Quick fire maths practise for 6-11 year olds (topmarks.co.uk)

Letters sent home this week

• Whole School - Southend Makes Music - 01.02.2024

Year 5

This week year 5 have been learning how to talk about what careers they might do in French. They have been saying what is in the classroom as a fun add on speaking game. We also went on a litter collecting trip to the beach. It was great to help our local community and to develop our sense of civic duty.

Letters sent home this week

• Year 5 - Beach Trip - 13.02.2024

Year 6

This week in maths we have moved onto our new unit of fractions, decimals and percentages. We have had great fun in art, creating stop motion animations of the Greek myth ‘Pandora’s Box’. In history, we have learned about how the Greeks created the alphabet. In PSHE, we have learned about what is feels like to belong and how we can help others feel that way.

French

This week year two enjoyed learning about objects in the classroom with some chain speaking activities; year five had fun speaking about possible future careers and learning vocabulary and structures for this.

Music

Music Clubs

• Tuesday 12.00: Band
• Tuesday 12.45: Year 2 Music Club
• Tuesday 3.30: Music Making for Year 1 and 2
• Wednesday 12.45: Choir for Years 3-6
• Thursday 3.30: Choir for Years 3 - 6

Instrumental Lessons

We do have a few vacancies, please contact Mrs Baines if your child would like to learn an instrument.

• Tuesday am: Drums (Mr Fletcher)
• Tuesday am: Guitar (Mr Brown)
• Wednesday am: Keyboard (Mr Hockey)
• Wednesday am: Guitar (Mr Elliot)

Future Events

• 15th March Southend Makes Music – KS2 Choir
• 19th March Infant Music Festival - 1pm (those involved have been notified by letter)
• 13th June Junior Music Fesitval - KS2 Choir

Healthy Schools